Indonesia: Australian drug trafficker to be deported

By Ainur Rohmah

TUBAN, Indonesia (AA) - Convicted Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby has been released and would be deported from Indonesia on Saturday after serving a nine-years term in jail, an official said.

The Directorate General of Immigration Spokesman Agung Sampurno told Anadolu Agency on Saturday that Corby will be deported to Australia today after being officially handed over to Australia's representatives and her family.

"After the process was completed, Corby immediately departed to the airport to be repatriated to Australia," said Sampurno.

Corby was sentenced to 20 years in prison for possession of more than four kilograms of marijuana in 2004, although the 36-year-old has always insisted on her innocence.

She only served just over nine years in jail after reductions for good behavior, and clemency from former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Her case sparked diplomatic rows between Indonesia and Australia, attracted intense interest in her court with prolonged public debate over her guilt.

Sampurno said Corby is banned from entering Indonesia for the next six months, and will be reviewed after that time is up.

"If there is a recommendation from related institutions to extend (ban to Indonesia), then we will extend it, otherwise Corby can enter Indonesia again," he said.

The Indonesia-Australia relationship was heated up in 2016 after the country executed the convicted drug traffickers Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan.